Donald Bonvallet was on Saipan in 1945 "with a Signal Aircraft Warning unit on the
top of Mt.Tapotchau with a radar unit on the top." "We were a company of 150 men in the 735
S.A.W. which was attached to the 20th Air Force (B-29) The seabees
blew part of the mountain top off to make room to put up our radar
antenna. Several hundred yards below was a level piece of ground and all
our living quarters were set up. At first it was tents then permanent
quonsets were put up. We were self contained,having our own mess hall,
motor pool,outdoor theatre and stage. etc. I was a radio repairman with
another fellow and we had our own radio shack. They built a pretty good
road up to our site. I can remember a back road down thru the jungle we
would try once in awhile. The edge of our site overlooked a dropoff that
had caves in the cliffs. I have some extra pictures stored away that I
will send you to help explain our position. I took alot of pictures of
that area and all around the island. I would be glad to answer any
questions if iI can. I imagine that all of our radar antenna and housing
was dismantled shortly after we all came home.We did have a typhoon
there and our rec hall was badly damaged. We were the only type of that
radar in the pacific,as there was one other in Africa. "I was 21 when on the island and soon will be
78. I live in a little town in Illinois called St. Anne about 60 miles
south of Chicago." April 2001. Click a thumbnail for the larger version.
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| Marpi Point | Going up to Mt. Tapochau | To the top of the mountain | Preparing the radar site |
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| First living area on mountain | New radar at the top | Camp from mountain top | 735th Mess Hall |
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| Top of mountain | Theatre and stage (As Donni?) | Shower andwash area | Donald Bonvallet |
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| Radio shack on the left | East Field (Kagman) | Natural (?) bridge. On the way to "millionaire acres". | Gun emplacement |
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| Sugar train | Chalan Kanoa | Chalan Kanoa (?) | Sugar Mill ruins |
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| Sugar Mill ruins | Kristo Rai Bell Tower (still standing) | ||
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| Sugar King | Pill Box near Isley Field | ||
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| Inside the quonset hut. Don on the right. They made the table and wrote letters home from there. | Coastal defense cave. | Inside the radar room on Mt. Tapochao. | |
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| B-29 | Bird Island. | Camp at Marpi. | Kagman |
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| Saipan harbor, 1945, | Navy plane at Kagman. | 39th SeaBee (Palace Theater) | Down from Capitol Hill? |
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| C-47's at Kobler Field. | A General's house. Location? | Farm - Kagman? | Camp Susupe? |
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| Kids in internment camp. | "Saipan civilians: Construction of the No. 1 Lodging started on Oct. 3, '89." | Returning to camp from the fields. | Another carabao on a new road. |
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| Where? | |||
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| Camp Susupe? | Japanese radio station on Wireless Road. | As Teo? | |
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| This map shows the location of all the movie/entertainment theaters on Saipan in 1945. The Palace Theater (#14 on the map) is in photo number 38. |
Photos by Donald Bonvallet, scans and web page by Mike Newman: mike.newman@saipan.com Last updated 26 September 2001